Safety | LocalGov

Grenfell Tower to be dismantled ‘sensitively’

10/02/2025

Angela Rayner has written to bereaved families who lost loved ones in the Grenfell Tower fire explaining that the building will be ‘sensitively’ taken down.

Government failing to tackle violence against women and girls

31/01/2025

A damning new report has concluded that government efforts have failed to improve outcomes for victims of violence against women and girls (VAWG).

Major flooding incident in Somerset as residents evacuated

28/01/2025

A major incident was declared in Somerset yesterday as residents were evacuated from their homes due to flooding.

Lancashire set to spend £14m on repairs at 61 schools

16/01/2025

Lancashire County Council has set out plans to spend a government grant on ‘urgent’ repairs at 61 schools.

Newcastle Council tackles dangerous staircases

08/01/2025

More than 3,000 homes and 57 blocks of flats with potentially dangerous staircases have been identified by Newcastle City Council.

Council to scrap new grit bins

06/01/2025

Milder winters and fiscal pressures have prompted Dudley Council to consider stopping the introduction of any new grit bins.

Acrospire launch aGlow Road Safety Light: a cutting edge IoT-enabled solution to ensure school zone safety

13/12/2024

British exterior lighting manufacturer, Acrospire, is proud to announce the launch of a new state-of-the-art, twin-amber hazard warning light designed specifically to enhance safety around school environments.

Regulator to check councils’ asbestos control

06/12/2024

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is set to inspect hundreds of council buildings to check the risk of asbestos is being properly managed.

Child was at ‘constant risk of injury’ in unsafe temporary accommodation

05/12/2024

A family with a disabled child had to live in an unsafe flat for a year and a half longer than they should have, an investigation has found.

Social worker safety put at risk by policy changes

03/12/2024

Policy changes reducing police presence at mental health incidents are putting the safety of social workers at risk, a charity and university have warned.

Brum staff call for security review

26/11/2024

Birmingham City Council staff have called for a review of security at their offices after three housing staff were injured in a ‘serious incident'.

Pop-up flood awareness centre opens in Hull

26/11/2024

A pop-up flood awareness centre has opened in Hull to offer advice on how to prepare in the event of flooding.

CCTV trial launches at London bus stops

25/11/2024

Transport for London (TfL) has launched a trial of CCTV at 20 bus shelters across the capital in a bid to improve safety, particularly for women and girls.

Councillors demand action over ship with explosive material

19/11/2024

The decision to allow the MV Ruby, a ship carrying 20,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, to return to Great Yarmouth was ‘unacceptable’, councillors warn.

Council fined £500k after dog walker death

11/11/2024

Cheshire East Council has been fined £500,000 after admitting breaches of health and safety legislation that led to a dog walker's death.

Woman fell to death trying to fix council flat drainpipe, inquest finds

11/11/2024

A 37-year-old woman who died after falling from a sixth-floor Hackney Council flat was trying to fix a blocked drainpipe, an inquest has found.

New steps to keep tenants safe

08/11/2024

Housing Associations can now access a cost-effective method of managing the risk of helping keep tenants safe when using stairs.

Charity calls for national standards on taxi licensing

05/11/2024

An anti-stalking and harassment charity has called for stricter background checks to be introduced for taxi drivers applying for licenses.

Scotland announces local safety cash with £4m for 20mph limits

05/11/2024

The Scottish Government has committed £14m to Scotland’s 32 councils to enhance road safety, with £4m dedicated to the rollout of 20mph limits.

Edinburgh urged to consider drug testing amid HGV safety concerns

31/10/2024

‘Strong concerns around the potential use of alcohol or drugs while driving’ have emerged in a report into the safety of City of Edinburgh Council’s heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

Acrospire's Sustainable Lighting Solution for Luton Bus Shelters

29/10/2024

Acrospire has provided Luton Borough Council with a solar-powered solution that ensures zero energy consumption and robust performance.

Watchdog to investigate death of schoolgirl in mudslide

10/10/2024

The national health and safety regulator has taken over the investigation into how a 10-year-old girl was killed by a mudslide during a school trip.

Council alters head-bumping event over safety concerns

20/09/2024

A Cornish council has agreed to make changes to a local ceremony dating back to the 16th century over health and safety concerns.

Norfolk schools inspected due to ceiling collapse fears

19/09/2024

Norfolk County Council has commissioned inspections of 37 more school buildings over concerns the ceilings could be at risk of collapse.

Martyn's Law: Bill to protect public from terrorism introduced

13/09/2024

Plans to require venues to introduce measures to protect visitors and staff from terror attacks – known as Martyn's Law – have been introduced to Parliament.

Mayors asked to take lead in drive against extremism

05/09/2024

Local political leaders have been asked to spearhead efforts to tackle extremism and foster greater community cohesion following a summer of disorder.

Cambridgeshire to plead guilty after busway deaths

03/09/2024

Cambridgeshire County Council will plead guilty to two health and safety offences after three people died in collisions on its guided busway.

Shock as council paints over potholes

23/08/2024

Residents and councillors in Lymington were left in shock after the highway authority closed a pothole-riddled road for repairs – only to paint over the cavities.

Safety warning as 75-year-old fills potholes

23/08/2024

A Scottish council has expressed health and safety and insurance concerns after a 75-year-old resident used gardening tools to fill in potholes.

Haigh: Councils should decide on traffic measures

22/08/2024

The transport secretary has pledged to back councils that implement low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) and 20mph limits, with the new government ‘absolutely determined’ to end the Tories’ ‘culture wars’ approach to transport.

Call for Government RAAC remediation cash

20/08/2024

Pressure is growing on the Scottish Government to help shoulder the multi-million pound burden of replacing council buildings containing dangerous concrete.

Landslip repairs to cost council £3.5m

15/08/2024

Northumberland County Council has estimated it will spend £3.5m repairing a road that suffered a landslip last year.

Harehills: Disorder 'normal' for Leeds social workers

13/08/2024

Leeds City Council has been urged to improve support for social workers after an employee was injured amid disorder in Harehills last month.

Council set to trial motorhome parking ban

09/08/2024

North Yorkshire Council is set to trial a ban on overnight motorhome parking at coastal hotspots because of ‘safety fears’ and escalating complaints from residents.

Believ earns ISO certifications as it continues to commit to quality, safety and environmental best practice

30/07/2024

Believ accredited with ISO certifications which demonstrate the company’s commitment to quality, security, health and safety and environmental best practice.

Wales publishes 20mph guidance

17/07/2024

The Welsh Government has published guidance on reverting speed limits in built-up areas to 30mph, less than a year after introducing a default 20mph limit.

Islington identifies £1.8bn housing shortfall

05/07/2024

Islington Council is facing a deficit ‘in excess of’ £1.8bn in its housing revenue account (HRA) over the next 30 years.

Companies banned from performing butt lifts after hospitalisations

05/07/2024

Brentwood Borough Council has launched an investigation after residents who had undergone a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) were hospitalised.

Public advised to use ‘personal lighting’ amid streetlight cuts

26/06/2024

A council in the outer Hebrides has advised people to consider using ‘personal lighting’ after announcing it would switch off streetlights earlier.

Lack of funding hindering road safety, councils say

19/06/2024

Limited funding and inadequate data are major barriers to road safety planning and measurement, local authorities have reported.

Investigation into fairground ‘malfunction’ after four injured

10/06/2024

A ‘thorough’ investigation will determine what caused a fairground ride malfunction that left four people injured at the weekend, Lambeth Council has said.

Half of cyclists say road conditions are dangerous

10/06/2024

A major local government insurer has warned that months of rain may have caused ‘some of the worst ever road conditions’.

Beach huts closed due to cliff collapse risk

03/06/2024

Dozens of seafront beach huts in Bournemouth have been closed due to fear of an imminent cliff collapse.

Child pedestrian casualties on England’s roads up 16%

31/05/2024

Nearly 50 child pedestrians are killed or injured on England’s roads every day, a new study has revealed.

Council launches investigation after five-year-old dies in tower block fall

17/05/2024

Newham Council will carry out an investigation following the death of a five-year-old boy who fell from a tower block of flats in east London on Thursday.

Council faces court over busway deaths

10/05/2024

Cambridgeshire County Council has been served a court summons over three fatalities in separate incidents on its troubled guided busway.

‘Bleak’ future for social housing without investment

07/05/2024

Without extra funding, the future of England's social housing looks ‘bleak’, council bosses have warned.

Potholes cost economy over £14bn a year

29/04/2024

The poor state of England’s pothole-riddled road system is costing £14.4bn a year in economic damage, new research has revealed.

Wales to ‘correct’ guidance on 20mph speed limits

22/04/2024

The Welsh Government will change its guidance on 20mph speed limits, the transport minister has said.

LGA calls for powers to withhold members’ address

03/04/2024

Council leaders have repeated their call for legislation enabling councils to withhold councillors' home addresses amid fears of abuse and intimidation.

DfT hands councils £38m for road safety

22/03/2024

Ministers have announced £38.3m to improve the safety of 17 high risk local roads in England.

Brixton Academy to reopen after fatal crush

05/03/2024

Brixton Academy will open next month for the first time since two people died in a crowd crush in December 2022.

LGA welcomes new police support for councillors

29/02/2024

The Local Government Association (LGA) has welcomed news that councillors will for the first time have a named police contact to help with security issues.

Plymouth council leader applauds city’s ‘war-time spirit’

26/02/2024

The leader of Plymouth council has applauded the ‘war-time spirit’ of the city’s residents after a Second World War bomb was safely detonated at sea.

2,700 dangerous animals kept as pets

23/02/2024

Lions, tigers and venomous snakes are among the 2,700 wild animals kept at private addresses across the UK, wildlife charity Born Free has revealed.

Birmingham failed residents over damp and mould, ombudsman finds

22/02/2024

The Housing Ombudsman has found six cases of severe maladministration in Birmingham City Council’s handling of issues reported by tenants.

Rowley: Councils must do more to improve high-rise safety

21/02/2024

Housing minister Lee Rowley has called on councils to do more to tackle building owners who fail to fix high-rise buildings in the wake of Grenfell tragedy.

Lewes becomes first council to support ‘Zane’s Law’

21/02/2024

Lewes District Council has become the first local authority to support a proposed new law that calls for greater protection from contaminated land.

Council appeared to be in ‘crisis management mode’

20/02/2024

‘Multiple and repeated’ failures by Hammersmith and Fulham Council left residents feeling ‘anything but secure in their homes’, a special investigation has found.

Barton House residents demand safety reassurances

15/02/2024

Residents of Barton House in Bristol have marched to City Hall demanding reassurances about the safety of the building ahead of their return.

Call to recruit 19,000 neighbourhood officers

13/02/2024

A think-tank has urged the Government to launch a recruitment drive to boost police numbers and restore trust in neighbourhood policing.

£3bn boost to affordable homes fund

12/02/2024

An additional £3bn is now available to build and improve affordable housing in England.

Nearly 120 RAAC-affected school buildings to be rebuilt

09/02/2024

Nearly 120 school buildings containing dangerous concrete will be rebuilt or refurbished, the Government has confirmed.

School leaders call for Ofsted exemption due to RAAC

07/02/2024

School leaders have called for all schools impacted by the dangerous concrete scandal to be exempt from Ofsted inspections until they are ‘fully operational’.

Pupils leaving RAAC schools, heads warn

25/01/2024

Students are increasingly being taken out of schools that are affected by a crumbly form of concrete, headteachers have warned.

‘Worst October in history’ for pothole breakdowns

27/11/2023

October this year was the worst on record for pothole-related breakdowns, according to the AA Pothole Index.

MPs slam ‘beyond unacceptable’ condition of schools

20/11/2023

Thousands of children are learning in potentially unsafe buildings, with MPs ‘extremely concerned’ about the Department for Education’s understanding of the risks, a new report says.

Council failure left ambulance unable to reach resident

15/11/2023

Stevenage Borough Council’s failure to fix a disabled resident’s door entry system left the ambulance service unable to attend to him, a watchdog has found.

Tower block evacuated over structural concerns

15/11/2023

Tenants were evacuated from a tower block in Bristol yesterday after a survey found there is a risk to the building’s structure.

Street calls for PCC powers

02/11/2023

West Midlands mayor Andy Street has formally asked the Government to transfer police and crime commissioner (PCC) powers to the mayoralty.

Bury Market partially closes for RAAC safety checks

27/10/2023

Bury Market’s indoor stalls, which contain Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete, have been closed for safety works.

Historic courthouse collapses

09/10/2023

The Old Courthouse in Cockermouth, Cumbria has partially collapsed into a river.

Sheffield landlord gets country's longest banning order

06/10/2023

A Sheffield man has been added to the Rogue Landlord Database and banned from letting or managing properties for 10 years.

Unions call for £4bn investment in school estate

26/09/2023

In response to the RAAC crisis, trade unions have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging him to invest £4.4bn per year to improve the school estate.

Government urged to share RAAC school list

19/09/2023

Council leaders have urged the Government to share the list of schools who have yet to respond to surveys about reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

‘Urgent’ RAAC inspections of Oxford council-owned buildings

12/09/2023

Authority-owned buildings in Oxford may contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) and will be inspected ‘as a matter of urgency’, the city council has said.

London to expand 20mph limits

12/09/2023

Transport for London (TfL) has announced 65km of new 20mph speed limits to be introduced across eight London boroughs by the end of the year.

Regulator writes to housing providers over RAAC

08/09/2023

The Regulator of Social Housing wrote to all social housing providers in England yesterday on the issue of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Newcastle approves new taxi design to improve safety

08/09/2023

Plans to rebrand Newcastle’s black cabs to make them ‘instantly recognisable’ have been approved by the city council.

RAAC: what housing associations need to know about the concrete crisis

07/09/2023

Jon Coane, social housing expert at Shakespeare Martineau, looks at how the Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) scandal is affecting social housing.

Ministers fear public building disruption after school closures

07/09/2023

Some ministers fear disruption and huge costs if public buildings with RAAC are held to the standards the Department for Education set by closing schools.

Union issues safety warning as Glasgow ‘slashes’ number of CCTV staff

01/09/2023

Glasgow City Council has halved the number of staff it employs to monitor CCTV cameras in order to cut costs.

More than 100 schools told to shut buildings over safety concerns

01/09/2023

Days before the start of term, the Government has told 104 English schools to close buildings known to contain a weak form of ‘concrete’.

Three schools closed over safety concerns

24/08/2023

Three schools in England built by the same contractors have been advised not to reopen their buildings ahead of the new school year because of ‘structural irregularities’.

Investment in home improvements could create £10bn boost

23/08/2023

The Government could create a £10bn annual economic boost by spending a ‘tiny fraction’ of housing funding recently returned to the Treasury on improving the nation’s homes, according to a new report.

Dorset beachgoers have ‘lucky escape’

14/08/2023

Dorset Council has warned visitors to be careful when visiting West Bay after rocks and mud fell from the cliff narrowly missing beachgoers.

Sports clubs should pay £1m safety bill

11/08/2023

Charging regulations that force councils to pay £1m a year for sports clubs to have safety certification are outdated, says the Local Government Association.

Local mayor plans Bibby Stockholm legal challenge

09/08/2023

The Mayor of Portland is planning on launching a legal challenge against the Home Office over the use of the Bibby Stockholm barge to house asylum seekers.

‘Real fears’ that post-Grenfell safety legislation won’t be delivered

31/07/2023

Auditor General for Wales has raised concerns over the devolved government’s implementation of building safety legislation that was created after Grenfell.

Deprivation of Liberty laws are not fit for purpose

26/07/2023

Baljinder Bath, barrister at 4PB, argues that Deprivation of Liberty laws are not fit for purpose in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable children.

LGA: police mental health withdrawal too quick

26/07/2023

Council chiefs have raised concerns that plans for police to stop attending mental health incidents are ‘being rolled out too quickly’.

Leeds council homes to be tested for Radon gas risk

25/07/2023

More than 9,100 council-owned homes in Leeds are being tested for a radioactive gas after a risk of excessive Radon was identified.

Government urged to set date for e-scooter legislation

24/07/2023

More than 50 organisations, including six local authorities, have signed a letter calling on the Government to legalise e-scooters.

‘Landmark’ social housing Act becomes law

21/07/2023

The Government’s new Social Housing (Regulation) Act, which includes greater powers to tackle failing social landlords, has become law.

Council orders removal of insulation made by Grenfell firm

14/07/2023

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has ordered the removal of insulation made by a firm that was implicated in the Grenfell tragedy.

Plymouth fined £200,000 over workers’ hand conditions

10/07/2023

Plymouth City Council (PCC) has been fined £200,000 after its failures to comply with legislation led to employees developing hand and wrist conditions.

Council chiefs call for funding pot to fix schools

28/06/2023

Council chiefs have called for a single funding pot to pay for upkeep of school buildings after auditors warned 700,000 pupils are in dilapidated schools.

Car park design in the 21st century

16/06/2023

Chris Whapples, Institution of Structural Engineers, looks at what local authorities need to consider when thinking about parking standards.

Newcastle taxis to adopt city’s football colours

14/06/2023

Taxis in Newcastle could be branded in the colours of the city's football team in a bid to improve safety.

Enfield trading standards cuts risk public safety

08/06/2023

Enfield Council is at risk of becoming the first local authority without a Trading Standards team after a decision to let go of three quarters of the team.

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